/Institutions/University-of-Texas-Rio-Grande-Valley/json/som/policies-local.json

/Institutions/University-of-Texas-Rio-Grande-Valley/json/som/policies.json

Faculty Search Process

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Faculty Recruitment and Search Procedures for all Departmental Search Committees

The Search Process

Search Committee

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine (SOM) is committed to building and sustaining a highly qualified and talented faculty to pursue excellence in everything we do. This process provides uniform procedures to ensure a fair and effective process to follow as you recruit faculty.

A Search Committee (SCs) shall be formed for tenured Professor or leadership (Associate Dean and above) positions with a joint faculty appointment. Search Committee members will be selected by the Department Chair/Dean. The SC will consist of at least three (3) (preferably five [5] in larger departments) faculty members and may also include subject matter experts who are able to provide feedback related to the area of expertise only. While it is recommended that the committee consist of 3-5 members, the Department Chair/Dean should determine the optimal size of the committee and ensure there is an odd number of committee members. The faculty members will represent multiple academic ranks. Committee members’ faculty appointments must be in a SOM department. One faculty member will be appointed as the Chair of each SC. Each Search Committee member has one vote in Committee decisions. The SOM Human Resources office may provide guidance and direction regarding best practices for search committee appointments.

NOTE: A Search Committee member shall not be considered as a candidate for the position and applicants shall not be involved in the search process.

Committee meetings should be convened at a place and time where and when all committee members, including the EOL, can be present. All members of the Search Committee must be notified at least two (2) business days prior to the convening of a Search Committee meeting. A majority of the committee must be present to conduct committee business.

Each UTRGV SOM Search Committee (UTRGV SOM SC) will also have an Equity Opportunity Liaison (EOL). For SOM SCs, the SOM EOL will serve in an objective, non-voting capacity. The EOL should hold a fifty percent (50%) or more faculty appointment; however, non-faculty members who are identified as equal opportunity subject matter experts by the Office of Title IX and Equal Opportunity (OTIXEO) and SOM HR may serve in this capacity. The SOM Assistant Vice President of Human Resources will serve as the OTIXEO designee for the UTRGV SOM. When the SOM has a sufficient number of tenured faculty members, non-tenured SOM EOLs will be replaced by SOM tenured faculty members.

The EOL shall:

• Receive specialized training and support from OTIXEO and SOM Office of Faculty Affairs.
• Attend Search Committee meetings, candidate interviews, and sessions involving official committee deliberations regarding candidates; if the EOL cannot attend, a substitute from the EOL pool shall be identified by the Search Committee Chair or the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, SOM.
• Promote the active and robust recruitment of all qualified applicants.
• Ensures that search practices are in line with SOM goals and in compliance with equal opportunity rules and regulations, such as ADM 03-100, Nondiscrimination and Complaint Procedure.
• Consult with the Search Committee as to whether recruitment efforts are in line with UTRGV’s affirmative action plan (AAP) (based on federal affirmative action requirements) and any applicable state requirements.
• Understand common errors that result in failed searches and educate the search committee as to practical ways to avoid common search committee errors in consultation with OTIXEO, SOM Office of Faculty Affairs and SOM Office of Human Resources.
• Ensure fair and equal treatment of all candidates;
• Ensure that all communications about candidates within the Search Committee make no improper reference (beyond use of pronouns) to a candidate’s race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, or genetic information or veteran status;
• Discuss emerging issues or concerns with the Search Committee Chair. In the unlikely event that these issues are not satisfactorily addressed or resolved, the EOL may contact the Department Chair or the Dean. As a measure of last resort, the EOL may contact the SOM Office of Human Resources, if needed; and
• If it is determined that the guidelines have not been followed or the process has been violated, depending on the nature, severity, and duration of the infraction(s), the EOL can make recommendations for change up to and including failing the search to the Department Chair and Dean in consult with the Equal Opportunity Officer and SOM Office of Human Resources.

The Search Committee Chair should immediately contact the Director/Department Chair and Dean if questions or concerns arise regarding the EOL’s commitment or ability to meet their duties in the search process. A search is subject to cancellation for failure to include an EOL in the process.

At each SC’s initial meeting, the Dean or appointee will attend to give the SC its charge (instructions about the SC’s duties, responsibilities, and obligations).

Search Committees will:

1. Review applicants for open positions, ranking them into an initial group of first round candidates.
2. Network with peers and external contacts, colleagues to identify applicants.
3. Interview the first-round candidates via telephone, virtual, or on-campus interviews
4. Reduce the first-round candidates to a select group of finalists; and
5. Interview finalists in on-campus interviews and select the candidates who will be referred to the Dean for decision on job offer and appointment.

Advertising Faculty Positions

• All External UTRGV advertisements must contain the following statement: EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability; or EOE/M/F/Vet/Disability
• Identify in the text of the ad the Department Chair, Search Committee Chair or to whom applications will be sent.
• Identify appropriate publications to ensure that the posting will be seen by a qualified, broad, diverse pool of applicants.
• SC members may also contact colleagues, and individuals at other institutions, to build a list of potential applicants.
• SC members should also create a list of other organizations to which they will distribute copies of UTRGV SOM postings: Departments at peer medical schools, national associations and academies, graduate groups, women and minority organizations, and national professional meetings and conferences.
• The SC should design a process to handle nominations it might receive from the above-referenced outreach activities. Additionally, the SC should plan to document all School of Medicine recruiting activities for the OTIXEO as part of the certification of the applicant pool.
• All applicants must submit their applications via the UTRGV Careers portal at https://careers.utrgv.edu.

Screening Applicants via Telephone/Virtual Interviews

Telephone/virtual interviews can be an effective and a low-cost method of screening applicants. The Search Committee should develop a structured telephone/virtual interview format in advance. The Search Committee should identify questions that will be asked of all candidates. A written summary of each phone/virtual interview should be prepared for record-keeping purposes and for use during the final evaluation process. All telephone/virtual interviews, just like in-person interviews, must follow a consistent format and the results of each interview documented.

Developing a Short List of Candidates

The SC will develop a short list of the best-qualified applicants. The list of finalists or the identified finalist must also be reviewed by the OTIXEO designee prior to the issuance of the Letter of Intent (LOI). The OTIXEO will complete the review of the list of finalists or the identified finalist within 48-hours of receiving the list.

Candidate Evaluation Form

The SC and all interviewers should use the standard SOM evaluation form to evaluate candidates interviewing in person. Additional categories may be added as appropriate.

Letters of Reference

Associate Professor-level candidates require two (2) letters of reference. Letters of reference written for an Associate Professor candidate should come from faculty at the rank of Associate Professor, or higher.

Professor-level candidates require three (3) Letters of Reference. Letters of reference written for a Professor candidate should come from faculty at the rank of Professor.

• One should come from outside the institution
• LOR should be received from those with same rank or higher that candidate holds
• Call vs. letter is an option

In support of Tenure track applications, please reference the SOM Promotion and Tenure Guidelines.

Conducting Campus Interviews/Visit

Prepare core interview questions directly related to the skills, abilities, and experience required of the position. A copy of the questions shall be provided to each Search Committee member and interviewer prior to the interviews. The Search Committee should discuss these questions in advance to ensure all Search Committee members understand the questions; this discussion will also provide a basis for determining how to rate each candidate’s responses.

• Be consistent - questions are to be asked in a consistent manner of all candidates:
  • In accordance with state and federal law, questions regarding race, sex, religion, age, and national origin cannot be asked of any candidate. In addition, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), questions regarding a candidate’s disability or medical condition must not be asked. Contact the OTIXEO, as appropriate, for assistance with pre-interview preparation.
• The Search Committee and School/Department must be ready to make reasonable accommodation(s) for qualified applicants with disabilities when requested by the applicant. Contact the OTIXEO to assist in addressing requests for reasonable accommodation.
• Prepare same or similar interview schedules/itinerary for each candidate. All candidates should be offered comparable opportunities to meet and interact as appropriate with the SOM Dean, Directors/Department Chairs, Search Committee members, faculty members, etc. This applies to both internal and external candidates.

Immediately after each campus interview/visit, the chair should provide a venue for evaluation/feedback for the faculty, staff, and students who participated in the interview process (including a presentation by the candidate) to complete and submit to the Search Committee. The candidates’ CVs should be distributed to SOM Department interviewers before campus interviews.